


Prince

by RensSaxophone



Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:53:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23301214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RensSaxophone/pseuds/RensSaxophone
Relationships: Jinguuji Ren/Kurosaki Ranmaru
Kudos: 6





	Prince

Ren and Ranmaru were both of royal descent. 

Princes.

Ranmaru was practically king, missing only the title and the true final word. When Ranmaru’s father passed away Ranmaru had taken over the kingdom for his mother, making the difficult decisions. His mother was still the queen, and the face of the kingdom, but she rarely stepped in, choosing to let Ranmaru handle things. When Ranmaru got married, he would get the official title and his mother would no longer be able to give the final decision, and his marriage was set to be at the end of this year. 

Ranmaru fully planned to marry Ren. 

Ren was a prince from a different kingdom, though he was currently residing in Ranmaru’s, in the process of courting him. Or rather, _had_ been in the process of courting him. At this point, the two were far past courting. Ren, however, had no claim to power in his own land, considering he wasn’t the oldest of his siblings, but he never seemed to care. Ren’s real job was to reflect well on his land, no matter where his life would lead, and marrying Ranmaru would certainly help with the kingdom’s face- becoming friendly with Ranmaru’s land through marriage, and it would make Ren happy. 

Their relationship was certainly going well, and the majority of the people that seemed to be bothered by it were typically the girls that were vying for Ranmaru’s attention. Ren certainly got approached often as well, being a handsome man himself, but Ren always shot down any new suitors and Ranmaru hadn’t entertained any offers even before he met Ren. 

That was where his mother’s interference really came in. Ranmaru _would_ be wed at the end of the year, whether it be to Ren or to a woman of Ranmaru’s mother’s choosing. Ranmaru’s mother loved Ren, and saw the use in uniting kingdoms- though she had expressed worry over an heir to take over. 

Ranmaru assured her that if his sister didn’t have a child, that Ren was certainly the parental type, and there were an unfortunate amount of children in poor circumstances or without parents that they could raise to become the heir. Luckily, his mother wasn’t traditional enough to require the heir to be of direct blood.

The closer it had gotten to the end of the year, the more panicked some of the female suitors had gotten. It was clear that Ren and Ranmaru would not split without some interference, and that’s exactly what they planned. 

“Prince Ren?” A young women approaches Ren, her body trembling and her eyes wide and shiny with tears. “Please help me. My sister fell and I’m not strong enough to help her up.”

Ren’s eyebrows furrow, a frown playing on the edge of his lips. Ren was known for his kind nature, and this certainly wasn’t an exception. “Of course. Lead the way, my lady.”

The woman would, travelling quickly, Ren trailing right behind. Ren finally stops and slows when he is led into a room, a circle of women surrounding him.

“What is this?” Ren’s voice has changed, quickly realizing that he’s been tricked. His expression turns wary, though when his head turns to face where he had just come from, he sees that the door is closed and the path is blocked by a few girls completing the circle. 

“We just want to talk.” There are two girls that step further into the circle. One is clearly the mouthpiece, though the second, hanging at the first woman’s elbow, seems quieter. 

“Then speak.” Ren’s voice isn’t cold, but it _is_ short. “Though I must ask that the next time you require my audience, you simply ask. I don’t appreciate being lied to.”

“And _we_ don’t appreciate your presence.” The first girl responds. Her voice _is_ cold. The way she holds herself makes it clear that she has some type of power- but even as an inactive prince, Ren is certain that he holds more than she does. Even in a kingdom that isn’t his own. 

Ren lets out a sharp, humorless laugh. “What?”

“This is Chisaki.” The first woman gestures to the woman by her elbow. Despite the hostility of the speaker, Chisaki gives a short bow of her head, perhaps on impulse. Chisaki does seem to agree with what the spokeswoman is planning to say. “She is the lady that our queen chose to be wed to Prince Ranmaru, and _your_ being here has put that in jeopardy.” 

“That’s a shame. But I believe the queen’s direct orders were that if Ran-” Ren smiles, an eyebrow quirking. “My apology. _Prince Ranmaru_ , hadn’t found himself a suitor by the end of this winter that he would be wed to a lady of her choosing. But he _has_ found himself a suitor. I’m sorry, my lady, but I’m afraid you lay no claims to Prince Ranmaru.”

“Your arrogance is appalling. As Prince Ranmaru’s subjects, we feel it imperative to stop this marriage.” The first woman looks disgusted. 

“With all due respect-” Ren places his hand across his waist and bends, bowing. “I would love to be more civil.” Ren straightens, his face closed off. “But that is a difficult feat when I’m faced with such hostility. Prince Ranmaru and I are both operating under the simple wish to be happy. If you truly care about him, you would let him make his own decisions. I’m sure you would have a much happier life if your ruler had a happy life, as well.”

Ren thinks he hears a noise from somewhere in the circle, but he’s distracted by the first woman’s next question. 

“You’re your own prince, yes? You have an awful amount of free time, living in our land.”

“I’m a second prince.” Ren’s response is formal. He doesn’t owe her an explanation, but he’s never been power hungry. He does, however, believe he sees where this is going. “I have nothing to rule.”

“But you certainly must have more back home than you do living here.” Her voice has changed. It’s a bit too sweet.

Ren’s face changes, almost a bit condescending, but his smile is sad. His eyes move between Chisaki and the first woman, and his voice gains a sarcastic tone. “Well- gold diggers do tend to like handsome, rich, powerful men, don’t they?”

Ren hears another click, but it doesn’t keep him from continuing. 

“Is that why you’re so hung up on Prince Ranmaru? I’m sure any of you lovely ladies could easily find a _different_ man, should you give it a try.”

Ren notices, from the corner of his eye, one of the women in the outside circle messing with something. It’s a small, metal machine, and Ren would recognize it. In his home, they would often use these recording devices to record musicians singing or playing their instruments, to listen to the performances at any time they’d like.

Ren’s eyes narrow, but then his face relaxes and his eyebrow raises. “And just what is your plan here?”

“We have some incriminating words against you, Prince Ren. We have some stipulations, if you’d like to keep Prince Ranmaru from hearing them.”

Ren’s laugh is a sharp, cold bark. “How dare you threaten me. I don’t fear your tricks. This is ridiculous.” Ren turns, planning to leave, but he’s stopped by a loud noise. Ren has to stop, stumbling back and covering his ears with his hands. The bang from the gun is deafening. Most of the girls seem to have already expected it, not nearly as affected as Ren. 

“This is no trick. If that isn’t enough to convince you, then maybe Prince Ranmaru’s life _will_ be.”

“You threaten your _king?_ ” Ren’s jaw tightens. 

“For his own benefit- I do.”

Ren’s expression is livid, and then it turns to closed off and cold. His voice is empty. A gun was a serious threat- and Ren wasn’t a fan of playing with Ranmaru’s life. “What are your demands?”

“Choose one of us, a girl, and confess to Prince Ranmaru that you lied to him and yourself and have figured out that a man cannot make you happy. You will do it _today_. Choose your new partner well, _prince_.”

“What do I care, who pretends to accompany me.” Ren scowls. “Choose yourself. The damage will be done either way.”

The girls argue amongst themselves, more than one of them clearly hoping to be Ren’s new ‘partner’. As they’d argue, Ren plans. 

Later that day, Ren makes his way to the courtyard where he was to meet Ranmaru. He was accompanied by the woman they chose- Misa. Ren was well aware that somewhere in the courtyard, one of the women had a gun, likely trained on Ranmaru. Ranmaru seems surprised to see Misa, hanging off of Ren’s arm. Ren’s face is cold.

Ren stops in a position that is directly in front of Ranmaru. His own revolver is cold against his skin, tucked into the waistband of his pants. Ren’s plan is wild, and could easily go wrong- but the slim chance that it works is enough to keep Ren going with it.

“What’s goin’ on?” Ranmaru is watching the girl, who would smile, charmingly, at Ranmaru. Misa waits for Ren to speak. 

This time was usually only Ren and Ranmaru. One of their secret, stolen moments alone outside of Ranmaru’s room.

“At the threat of _your_ life, I’ve been told to court this lady to leave you free reign to your other suitors.” Misa’s grip on Ren’s arm is tight, far past a warning at this point, her expression turning shocked. She releases his arm when he uses his free hand to grab his revolver, pointing it at her chest. “A desperate attempt to keep you from marrying me.” Ren is talking to Ranmaru but his eyes are on Misa. “Right, my lady?”

Ranmaru is frozen, a disbelieving look on his face. He must think Ren is insane. 

Ren would have to agree.

“I have no idea what he’s talking about!” Misa looks terrified. The fear in her eyes is real, and Ren is sure that the tears likely are, too. Even if they are mostly in place to try to fool Ranmaru. “Prince Ranmaru, please! Don’t let him hurt me!”

“Ren-” Ranmaru’s voice is careful. Ranmaru takes a step closer, but stills when Ren shakes his head. Ren leaves the gun pointed at the girl.

“Admit it.” Ren’s voice is cold, and his gaze is dangerous. 

“Prince Ranmaru, please!” Misa sobs. 

Ranmaru takes another careful step forward. “Ren, c’mon, listen to me. Just put down the gun-”

“This is your last chance.” Ren says seriously. He’s watching her closely, but she would shake her head, rapidly. She seems to be on the borderline of hysterics. “Then you leave me no choice.” Ren would move the gun up to his own head. 

Ranmaru lunges at him, just as he’d start to pull the trigger. 

Ren can hear Misa begin her hysterical sobbing- but his ploy would work. “No! No! I’m sorry! He’s right!” She’s covering her face, shaking. “We tricked him, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” 

Ren is lying on the ground, Ranmaru over him. Ranmaru is holding Ren’s wrists to the ground, pinning him, and Ren notices that Ranmaru’s composure is entirely lost. Ranmaru’s grey eyes are too wide, his face entirely flushed and his mouth slightly open. He’s nearly panting. Ren can feel that his grip is tight enough that it may leave a mark, and he thinks that Ranmaru is trembling. He looks scared. 

Ren gives him a sad smile. “I’m sorry, darling. I wasn’t trying to scare _you_.”

“You just threatened to shoot a girl and tried to fucking _kill yourself_ , Ren, how the fuck _wouldn’t_ that scare me!?”

“The gun is empty.” Ren promises. “I’m no killer, Ran.”

Ranmaru takes the gun, pushing it open with his thumb. He gives Ren a stern look, and he shows Ren the inside of the gun. There’s a single bullet, though it’s further towards the bottom. Ren gives a small, sheepish smile. 

“I guess that there was one.”

Ranmaru’s grip had lessened on Ren’s wrists while he had messed with the gun, but in a second of silence, Ren can hear a gun cock, and his heart stops. 

Ren reacts quickly, shoving Ranmaru off of him to roll on top of Ranmaru, switching their positions. 

“Ranmaru!” Ren’s voice is pained, and he presses himself to Ranmaru, before quickly catching himself, pulling back. He’s still straddling Ranmaru, his expression shocked. There are tears in his eyes, and he looks too pale. There’s a deep, red spot forming on Ranmaru’s shirt, and Ren brings his hand to his own shirt, where there’s a stain as well. 

Ranmaru is frozen, in complete shock, but he tries to sit up and Ren holds him down by the shoulder without any blood. “Stay still.” Ren commands, carefully moving Ranmaru’s shirt. There’s blood covering his skin, and Ren’s stained hands only brings more. Ranmaru tries to look, but Ren curls his fingers, using the slightly less bloody part of his hand to turn Ranmaru’s head. “Don’t look, baby.” Ren’s voice is as soothing as he can make it.

“Ren-” Ranmaru’s voice is tight, and Ren can tell that he’s trying not to panic. “I don’t feel anything, I can’t-” 

“You might be in shock, Ran.” Ren cuts him off, but his voice stays gentle. “There’s a lot of blood.”

“Oh, God, I didn’t mean to shoot him. That wasn’t supposed to hit him!” The spokeswoman steps out of her hiding place, in too much shock to cry, though Ren can see her body shaking from here. The tears slowly begin to trail their way down her cheeks, the gun hanging limply by her side. “It was supposed to miss, I didn’t want to hurt him!” 

The guards finally arrive, alerted by the gunshot, and immediately both the girl and Ren and Ranmaru are surrounded. 

The girl is apprehended, and Ren is ripped off of Ranmaru. Ren’s face twists, for just a second, in pain as they grab him, but the rest of the guards are covering Ranmaru. 

“Let him go!” Ranmaru’s voice is sharp, and he’s struggling to push the guards away. The guards would immediately release Ren. 

“I think he was hit.” Ren would say quietly, to the nearest guard to him. “Prince Ranmaru needs to be checked on.”

Ranmaru is still trying to struggle to his feet, but the guards would take over. They let him walk, but the way they’re leading him makes it clear that he has no say. Ranmaru is trying to look over his shoulder, to look at Ren, and Ren would give him a gentle smile. 

Ren would have stayed, to explain to the remaining guards exactly what had happened, and the girl would be led to the jail cells in the lower level of the castle. 

When Ren has explained himself, he heads to his own quarters. Ren has barely even entered his room when Ranmaru would storm inside, throwing the door open and heading straight for Ren. 

There is no surprise. Ren is calm, watching Ranmaru storm up to him. Ranmaru brings his hands up, ripping Ren’s shirt open at the middle, not bothering to unbutton them, and he pulls the shirt over Ren’s shoulder. 

“I wasn’t shot.” Ranmaru’s voice is livid, and shaking with his rage. “They didn’t find any fucking wounds, and that’s why I didn’t feel anything. Shock, my ass. You took a _bullet_ for me!?”

The bullet wound on Ren’s shoulder is obvious as soon as his shirt is removed over it, and Ranmaru presses Ren back, forcing him to lie on the bed. Ren remains quiet. 

“As soon as I get the medic down ‘ere and I get you taken care of, you’re goin’ back ‘t my room and you’re not leaving for a fucking month. You were shot, Ren! Fuckin’ five minutes after almost shooting yourself, you get shot and then y’try to deflect it by makin’ me think _I_ took the fucking bullet.” Ren’s expression turns softer, guiltier, when he notices that Ranmaru is close to tears. “If you _ever_ try to pull something like this again, I’ll kill you myself, Ren Jinguji.” Ranmaru’s voice drops, and the shakiness in it is different- almost scared. “How much pain are you in? And don’t you dare try to fucking lie to me.”

“It’s… bad.” Ren admits quietly. He still tries to reach up, to wipe Ranmaru’s cheek, where a tear had managed to escape. Ranmaru catches Ren’s hand, moving it back to the bed, far more gentle than even Ren had expected. “It might be the worst pain I’ve ever felt.”

“People die from gunshots, Ren. You should _already_ have been getting treated.” Ranmaru swallows hard, a few more tears trailing down his cheeks. His words, however, would spur him into action, and he would wipe at his face. “Don’t you dare move.” Despite his emotional state, his tone makes it clear that Ren shouldn’t test him. Ren wouldn’t.

Ranmaru returns with a medic in tow, and Ren has stayed in place, though he’s watching Ranmaru’s face carefully as he gets closer. Ranmaru takes his seat at the head of Ren’s bed as the medic begins his assessment. 

The medic would have to dig the bullet out of Ren’s shoulder before he can stitch it up, and he uses alcohol to cleanse the wound. Ren isn’t able to stay quiet during either, but comparatively, the stitches and bandaging are nothing. Ranmaru would have taken Ren’s hand, staying silent, even when Ren squeezes his hand tightly. When the medic leaves, Ranmaru quietly runs his hands through Ren’s hair, though Ren is hardly conscious. 

“I’m sorry, Ran.” Ren’s voice is soft. He gets a bitter smile on his face, and the look in his eyes turns distant. “I’m sure you aren’t going to believe this, but I was really trying to avoid hurting you. That was the entire point of all of this.”

“Of getting shot?” Ranmaru’s voice is gruff. 

“Of coming up with a plan. I was hoping that they were bluffing, when they said they’d hurt you. I’m incredibly sad to see that they weren’t.”

“We’ll talk about this after you rest. There’s obviously a lot that ‘m missin’.”

Ren lets his eyes close, though when he wakes up, he’s in Ranmaru’s bed. His shoulder hurts, and he almost pushes himself up, but he catches sight of Ranmaru and chooses to stay lying down. 

Ranmaru is awake, sitting in the bed next to Ren. “I need ‘t make a decision on what to do with the girl. She _shot_ you, so obviously ‘m not lettin’ her go- but I need to know the situation. You awake enough ‘t talk about this? No- don’t sit up. Y’can talk about it right there.”

Ren relents, settling back down, and he’d frown, just a bit. “I’m awake enough.”

Ranmaru sighs, and he moves his hand, petting through Ren’s hair. Ren thinks that it’s more for Ranmaru than it is for Ren. “So what _she_ told me when I tried ‘t talk to her was that you figured out what girl my mom tried ‘t choose for me and you got mad. Said that you and that other girl y’were with were working together, ‘n she led me in the direction to hear some recordin’? Was you talkin’ about gold diggers. Personally, sounds like a bunch ‘a bullshit ‘t me, but you were acting _insane_ earlier. What the fuck were you doing?”

Ren would close his eyes, recounting the story. “A girl asked for my help and led me to a room to be interrogated. They were angry that it seemed like I was going to be the one to marry you, and not the girl your mother chose. I would hope that I don’t need to defend myself, as far as the recording goes. I’ve no interest in anything but _you_ , Ran.” Ranmaru grunts, and Ren just continues. “I tried to leave, after being threatened with the recording, and then they threatened _you_. Should I have followed their instructions, I was to pretend that I had fallen in love with Kira, the girl I pointed the gun at, and break up with you. My original plan was to take the empty- well… supposedly empty gun to try to get her to admit to trying to trick me- and, well, you, I suppose. I didn’t expect that they’d really try to shoot you.”

“What about the other part ‘a your plan? Trying to shoot _yourself_?”

“It was, more than anything, a desperate attempt. I was trying to get her to take pity. It did end up working.”

“And giving me a fuckin’ heart attack in the process.” Ranmaru grumbles. “So then why’d you act like you weren’t shot? Why’d you act like _I_ was? Shooting _anyone_ is a crime.”

“I was hoping that if she thought she hurt you that she’d come out of her hiding place. If she had known it was _me_ , I doubt she would have revealed herself.”

Ranmaru gets very quiet for a long moment, his only movement being his hand, still petting through Ren’s hair. When Ren looks up at Ranmaru’s face, he seems upset. “‘Fore I get into this part- I _do_ believe you. ‘Course I believe you. It was stupid of them ‘t think I wouldn’t. So I’ll figure out how ‘t handle her.” Ranmaru stops, and he looks at Ren with narrowed eyes, and Ren knows what he’s going to say next. “ _But now._ ” Ranmaru’s jaw tightens. “I’m not done lecturing you. What’s the point of any of this if I _lose_ you, Ren? Who ‘m I supposed ‘t marry if you bite it?” 

Ren shifts, pressing his forehead against Ranmaru’s thigh, and he presses a light kiss on the outside of his pants. “I’m sorry, baby.” Ren’s apology is genuine, especially hearing the hitch in Ranmaru’s. “I didn’t think she’d shoot, and when I heard that she did, I panicked. I’m sorry that I scared you, my love, but I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

“Yeah?” Ranmaru watches Ren carefully, almost distrusting. 

“While I’m healing, I’ll listen to anything you say. No questions asked.”

“Obviously.” Ranmaru clicks his tongue, and Ren can’t help the soft chuckle. He can tell that Ranmaru’s grateful, anyways. “But I also want a promise that you’re not gonna do this again.”

“How often do you have people shooting at you, my love?”

“Just shut up and promise.” Ren notices a bit of pink in Ranmaru’s cheeks. Ren would press another soft kiss to his leg. 

“Alright, alright. I promise, Ran.”

Ranmaru would sigh, his hand moving from Ren’s hair to rest on his cheek, his index finger tracing Ren’s jaw. “Think I also came up with a way that should stop a couple ‘a problems I can see coming up soon.”

“What problems?” Ren’s eyebrows furrow. 

“Y’said there were a whole group ‘a girls. Easiest way to make sure they don’t try ‘t stop the wedding again is to not wait. Soon as you’re better, we should have the wedding.” 

Ren looks up at Ranmaru, but there’s an undeniable excitement in his eyes, and he smiles widely. “That sounds like a wonderful idea.” Ren moves, his head resting back on the bed. He takes Ranmaru’s hand with the hand on his uninjured side, pressing a soft kiss to the tips of Ranmaru’s fingers. “I’d like to kiss you, _Prince Ranmaru_.”

“Demandin’ aren’t we?” Ranmaru smirks, adjusting himself so that he can lean over Ren without shifting Ren too much. Ren can tell that Ranmaru isn’t completely over his upset, but that the mention of moving the wedding had Ranmaru excited, too. Ranmaru would stop, his face hovering just above Ren’s before he’d finally kiss him, a very sweet and gentle kiss, coming from Ranmaru. Ranmaru would pull back, the smirk back on his face. “Lucky for you- I wanted ‘t kiss you, too, _Prince Ren._ ”


End file.
